“There is an unconscious and intoxicated male,” said a voice over the intercom.
The dispatcher reads an address and continues.
“He’s been beaten by another male who is said to have left the scene.”
Officer Dustin Zimmerman slams the brakes of his cop cruiser and pulls a 180 in the vacant road. The engine groans as he races two miles across town to the scene of the incident.
The air reeked of burnt rubber as his car screeches to a halt behind his sergeant, who arrived at the scene first. The officers hurry inside the house, but the now-conscious victim claims he is fine and doesn’t want to press charges against his alleged attacker.
Zimmerman works the 12-hour night shift for the Hillsdale City Police Department. His colleagues and friends call him Dusty. His sergeant said he’s a “real go-getter.” He is known as the “traffic guy” for the high number of drunk driving arrests he’s made. Zimmerman likes to describe himself as “6 foot 2 and bullet proof;” however, he may appear slightly shorter in person.
“I stay busy by stopping cars,” Zimmerman said. “The best way to intervene and to be proactive starts with traffic. I think traffic is the gateway to all other sorts of crime.”
Zimmerman patrols the quiet streets of Hillsdale at night, making sure everything is in its place and is always alert, ready to answer a call.
He pulls into a car dealership and drives through the line of luxury vehicles, shining his high-powered exterior flashlight along the row of tires. He said they are often known to go missing on these high price vehicles.
“One thing I like about working for the city is that you learn your territory very well,” he said. “You know who is supposed to be somewhere and who is not supposed to be there.”
Zimmerman grew up in Hillsdale and went to the local high school. He played football at Albion College for one year before transferring to Kellogg Community College, where he studied applied science. He worked at the Hillsdale County Sheriff’s Department for two years and has been with the city police for two years now.
While knowing a small town well is an advantage when policing, it can also be uncomfortable.
“It’s very difficult being a police officer in a small community,” Zimmerman said. “Everyone knows everyone here. Even off duty, I’m still a cop. I see people I’ve arrested or made contact with in local establishments all the time — it makes it tough. Being a cop can be a social handcuff.”
Zimmerman said he always tries to understand and relate to the people he pulls over or arrests. He likes being an officer, because he enjoys problem-solving, action, and people.
“You have to be a chameleon to get victims to relate to you,” he said. “And there’s an absolute tone of discretion in all situations. You’re allowed to be the type of police officer you want to be.”
He continues on his regular patrol over to Hillsdale College.
He points out houses he’s often visited on a rowdy Saturday night. Occasionally officers are sent to Hillsdale College off-campus parties when they become a disturbance to neighbors, but all Zimmerman asks for is honesty, respect, and cooperation.
“I don’t like to pick on the college,” he said. “You respect us, and we will respect you.”
Zimmerman’s patrol covers everything within the Hillsdale city limits. He checks on the college campus, businesses, residential areas, back roads, and even graveyards.
He pulls into a graveyard, drives to the center path, and puts his cruiser in park. Here, he said, is where the most memorable moment of his career took place. It was there that he found a man parked in his car, writing a suicide letter to his family. Zimmerman stopped a tragedy that night.
Although he takes his job seriously, Zimmerman also knows how to take a joke.
“People call us ‘po-po’ or ‘piggies,’” he said. “But there is no type of word you can say that’s going to make me flip a switch and turn into the hulk.”
He also said that he’s never eaten a single donut as a cop.
“Maybe I’m just trying to break the stereotype or something.”
